Building Kingdom of Love Archives

Are you the lazy servant? – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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Monsignor John Esseff discusses the importance of love and the dangers of self-obsession. He uses the parable of the talents from the Gospel of Matthew to illustrate his point, explaining that the talents represent love and the servants represent different levels of capacity for love. He warns against laziness and self-obsession, using figures like Hitler and Stalin as examples of individuals who had little capacity for love and caused great suffering. He encourages listeners to exercise their capacity for love and witness love in the world. He also discusses the role of fear in blocking love and the importance of understanding that love multiplies when given away. He concludes by urging listeners to be aware of their capacity for love and to use it to bring light into the world.

Gospel MT 25:14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one–
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master’s money.

After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
‘Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.’
His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'”

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become his spiritual father. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical Missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests, sisters, seminarians, and other religious leaders worldwide.

How can we possibly love as God expects? – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Building a Kingdom of Love – How can we possibly love as God expects? Only “through Him, with Him, in Him!”

Gospel MT 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders.

“FEAR NOT!” The Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary w/ Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on the scriptures and the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He speaks of the power of the name of Jesus, the message of Our Lady of Fatima, and the many aspects which are contained in the mysteries of the Rosary. He also talks about the legacy of Fr. Patrick Peyton.

For a free MP3 audio of all four mysteries of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary visit here

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity worldwide. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become his spiritual father. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially the poor. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests, sisters, seminarians, and other religious leaders worldwide.

BKL496 – St. Therese, the Little Flower – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on the life and prayer of St. Therese, the Little Flower. He speaks of her simplicity of heart and great humility in her “little way”. He shares his experience of his own mother’s prayer and that of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who both loved and prayed with the “Little Flower”. The key is her

“hiddenness” and the beauty of a child. She has a special message for women the world over, especially for our culture in the United States.

He shares the story of his cousin Jimmy, his accident, and a stranger who came to his aid, and why the angels and the saints and the power of prayer have such an influence on our lives.

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests, sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.

Special Encore – The Canonization of St. Teresa of Calcutta – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

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SPECIAL ENCORE

Join Msgr. John Esseff as he reflects on his experiences with Mother Teresa on the eve of her canonization! Several of the stories he has not shared on any of his previous programs.

Rather than be “admirers” of Mother Teresa, Msgr. Esseff asks all of us to pray to become “imitators” of this little one of God’s children who has now become one of His great saints!

Carrier of God’s Tender Love and Mercy

Lord Jesus, merciful Face of the Father, you came to give us the Good News of the Father’s mercy and tenderness.

We thank you for the gift of our dearest Mother, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who will be canonized in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. You chose her to be your presence, your love and compassion to the brokenhearted, the unwanted, the abandoned and the dying. She responded wholeheartedly to your cry, ‘I Thirst,’ by the holiness of her life and humble works of love to the poorest of the poor.

We pray, through her intercession, for the grace to experience your merciful love and share it in our own families, communities and with all our suffering brothers and sisters. Help us to give our “hearts to love and hands to serve” after the example of Mother Teresa. Lord Jesus, bless every member of our family, our parish, our diocese, our country, especially those most in need, that we all may be transformed by your merciful love. Amen.

Text © Mother Teresa Center of the Missionaries of Charity

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to Saint Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders.

Discerning the Father’s Will for Our Lives – Building a Kingdom of Love w/Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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Msgr. Esseff discusses Discernment:

Why is it such an important aspect of our spiritual lives?
What is the role of the Spiritual Director in someone’s life?
What are the signs of a good spiritual director?
How do we find a good spiritual director?

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.

Why do those who trust in God suffer? – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on why those who trust in God suffer and why it appears those who shun God prosper. The key to understanding is trust, even when it is difficult.

Hab 1:12-2:4

Are you not from eternity, O LORD,
my holy God, immortal?
O LORD, you have marked him for judgment,
O Rock, you have readied him punishment!
Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil,
and the sight of misery you cannot endure.
Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence
while the wicked man devours
one more just than himself?
You have made man like the fish of the sea,
like creeping things without a ruler.
He brings them all up with his hook,
he hauls them away with his net,
He gathers them in his seine;
and so he rejoices and exults.
Therefore he sacrifices to his net,
and burns incense to his seine;
for thanks to them his portion is generous,
and his repast sumptuous.
Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword
to slay peoples without mercy?

I will stand at my guard post,
and station myself upon the rampart,
And keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what answer he will give to my complaint.Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision
Clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
If it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash man has no integrity;
but the just man, because of his faith, shall live. -NAB

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters, seminarians, and other religious leaders.

Why Do You Worry? – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

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Msgr. Esseff asks “Why do you worry? Are you a servant of God or mammon?”

Gospel MT 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity worldwide. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical Missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.

To Listen to God – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Are you frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed? Have you been trying to do “good things” but find yourself hitting a wall in your family, workplace, or ministry? Msgr. Esseff counsels us when to say “yes” or to say “no,” when to speak and when to be silent when to stay and when to go, and so forth. Everything hinges on listening to God and discernment. Are you operating in the “Light?”

Today, Msgr. Esseff asks that you take an hour to enter the inner self and listen to what God wants you to do. Write down what you hear God say in Psalm 139

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!

²Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;

thou discernest my thoughts from afar.

³Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,

and art acquainted with all my ways.

⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,

lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

⁵Thou dost beset me behind and before,

and layest thy hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

⁸If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!

⁹If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

¹⁰even there thy hand shall lead me,

and thy right hand shall hold me.

¹¹If I say, â€œLet only darkness cover me,

and the light about me be night,â€

¹²even the darkness is not dark to thee,

the night is bright as the day;

for darkness is as light with thee.

¹³For thou didst form my inward parts,

thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.

Wonderful are thy works!

Thou knowest me right well;

¹⁵my frame was not hidden from thee,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;

in thy book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

When I awake, I am still with thee.

¹⁹O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God,

and that men of blood would depart from me,

²⁰men who maliciously defy thee,

who lift themselves up against thee for evil!

²¹Do I not hate them that hate thee, OÂ Lord?

And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?

²²I hate them with perfect hatred;

I count them my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

²⁴And see if there be any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!

BKL490 – Encountering Our True Selves in Christ – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

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Encountering Our True Selves in Christ – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

“He shall proclaim peace to the nations!” Peace begins inside the hearts of each baptized Christian. Do you know who you are? Have you truly encountered Jesus?

Gospel MT 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by Pope St. John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.